Workouts & Exercises
Unleashing Potential With Functional Training
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in The Movement Trainer (AFT) course →
In short: Functional training uses full-body movements that mimic real-life actions — lifting, pushing, pulling, twisting — to build strength, coordination and stability you can actually use, which is why trainers apply it across every fitness level.
Tired of routines that yield little? Functional training is a different approach — one that builds strength you can actually use. It focuses on your body's ability to perform everyday movements efficiently, and trainers are increasingly making it their default.
What functional training is
Functional training uses exercises that mimic real-life activities — lifting, pushing, pulling and twisting. It builds muscle and burns fat like any good training, but it also improves overall athletic performance.
The key difference from traditional methods is that it doesn't isolate single muscle groups. It emphasises full-body movements that engage several muscles at once, which improves strength and endurance while also developing coordination, balance and flexibility.
Why trainers use it
- It produces results. Clients who've stalled on traditional workouts often break through, with real gains in strength, endurance and overall fitness.
- It's adaptable. Beginner or elite athlete, young or old, functional training scales to the individual — which is exactly what lets trainers address specific weaknesses or imbalances.
- It carries over to life. Lifting shopping, carrying a child, playing a sport — these need strength, stability and mobility together. Train the body to move efficiently and the benefit shows up outside the gym.
Exercises for different goals
- Strength: squats, deadlifts and lunges. Compound movements that engage the core, legs and glutes to build functional strength and stability.
- Cardiovascular fitness: high-intensity intervals using burpees, mountain climbers and kettlebell swings to raise the heart rate and burn calories quickly.
- Athletic performance: plyometrics such as box jumps, medicine ball throws and agility-ladder drills to build explosive power and quickness.
Equipment and tools
Much of functional training needs little more than your bodyweight, but a few tools extend it:
- Resistance bands — affordable, versatile, and available in different strengths so you can progress load gradually.
- Dumbbells and kettlebells — added resistance for squats, lunges and overhead presses.
- Suspension trainers (e.g. TRX) — a wide range of movements that engage several muscle groups while challenging stability and the core.
Bringing it into client workouts
Start by assessing the client's goals — strength, flexibility, performance — then design a programme around them. It's not one-size-fits-all: vary the exercises, intensity and duration to match their level and progress.
Often it's as simple as swapping an isolation exercise for a functional alternative. Instead of a leg-press machine, have them squat or lunge with dumbbells to engage more muscle and build usable strength.
Tips to get the most from it
- Prioritise form. Good technique reduces injury risk and makes sure the right muscles are working.
- Progress gradually. Match the starting point to the client, then build intensity and complexity as they get stronger and more skilled.
- Train balance and stability. Single-leg work and unstable-surface drills develop control, not just strength.
- Include mobility. Hip openers, shoulder work and spinal rotations keep joints moving well.
- Mix it up. New exercises, a changed order or some interval work keep clients engaged and challenged.
Functional training isn't a magic trick — it's a sensible focus on movements that matter. Apply it well and you help clients build strength and confidence that follows them out of the gym and into everyday life.
You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
The Movement Trainer (AFT) course: every answer marked by a real tutor, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
What every FASTER student gets
Built around you, not around the course
- A real person marks every answerEvery answer is read and marked by a tutor, with written feedback.
- Marked as you goEach teaching point is marked as you answer it, not at the end of the module.
- Dictate instead of typeA microphone on every written answer: say your answer and it types it for you (Chrome, Edge and Safari).
- Listen to the lessonsVoice-overs on the lessons, and the audio to download.
- Built for the way your brain worksShort lessons, one point at a time, marked as you go, with the choice to listen, read, print or speak your answers.
- Streaks that never punish youYou set how many days a week you want to study. Miss a day and your streak pauses; it is never lost.
- Accessible to WCAG AA, with an AAA optionEvery page measured against the WCAG accessibility standard: no faults at level A or AA, with a skip link, screen-reader labels and pages that hold together zoomed to 400%. A high-contrast option takes it to AAA.
- Keep it plainOne switch turns off the extras, the streaks, the badges, the celebrations and the movement, so the site stays plain and calm. Switch them back on whenever you like.
- Bigger text and wider spacingTwo steps of bigger text, and more room between lines, words and letters, on every page.
- Calmer motionOne switch stops animations and videos that play on their own. It is on already if your phone or computer asks for reduced motion.
- A personal video lessonWhen an answer needs real explaining, your marker records a video that lands in your course.
- A note before you sendBefore you send, the page tells you if your answer copies the lesson word for word, so you can put it in your own words.
- The skeleton and muscle labsTap any bone on the skeleton, and see the muscles light up on the model.
- Print the notesPrint the lessons and go old school.
- Case studies on your phoneBuilt into the site, saved as you go, there on your laptop when you sit down.
- Pin it to your home screenNo App Store and no Google Play. It is just there.
- No resit feesWork sent back is a chance to add more, with no resit fee.
- Return access for lifeQualify once and come back to the content whenever you need it.
- PT Manager from day onePT Manager is yours to learn on from the day you sign up. Using it with real clients comes once you hold your Level 3 and are listed on the FASTER Trainer Register.
- The FASTER Trainer RegisterA free listing on the Register once you qualify.
- Your certificates in one placeEvery course and its certificate on one page.
- Ask JohnThe Ask John button on every page, and his WhatsApp.
And PT Manager, free
51 tools to run your business, with no monthly fee and no cut of your money
PT Manager is yours to learn on from the day you sign up. Using it with real clients comes once you hold your Level 3 and are listed on the FASTER Trainer Register.
See all 51 tools
Set-up
- Import clients Bring a whole client list across in one go.
- My quotes Daily lines your clients see — yours, not stock.
- Programme templates The programme shapes you reuse — a session or twelve weeks. Pick one for a client, get your own copy.
- Exercise library Every exercise with FASTER coaching detail.
- Money Products, payments and who owes what.
- Send from your own email Connect your own email service so invites arrive from you, on your domain.
- My brand & client view What your clients see when they walk in — views, header, accent, logo.
- Your enrolment pack What every new client gets the moment you enrol them — your forms, ours, or a mix.
- Products and services What you sell — blocks, packages, memberships and one-offs, with their prices.
- Insurance Your policy on record — provider and expiry. Client features unlock while it is valid.
- My menu Switch any tool on or off — for your menu, your home and your whole account.
- Your website A free website on your own web address, filled from PT Manager. Or just the client sign-in door on your domain.
- Your public page Your verified Trainer Register listing, linking out to your own site and socials.
Business day to day
- Clients Your client list — invite, open a client, manage their space.
- Clubs Group your clients — a board they share, a programme or a monthly price if you want one.
- Challenges A dated push everyone logs against — for everyone you train, or for one club.
- Calendar Sessions, classes, capacity and bookings.
- Reminders The dates your business can't let lapse — insurance and first aid, nagged ahead of time.
- Nudges Who needs a nudge today — opportunities, one tap each.
- Who needs chasing Every conversation about money, in the order to work through them.
- What needs doing Your own list, in your own words — the jobs you keep meaning to get to.
- Till Sell at the desk — cash, card or on their phone — and download the sales sheet.
- What you are making What is coming in every month, what was paid in the last 30 days, and what sells.
Templates and systems
- Forms & interviews PAR-Q, consent, consultations and your own forms.
- Coaching room The coaching tools shelf — wheels, journeys and resources in one place.
- Radar wheels Build a life or performance wheel a client fills in — see change over time.
- Nutrition by FASTER Nutrition sheets and habits without meal-plan pretence.
- Pathways Automated coaching journeys you assign to clients.
- Programmes Start a programme — a session, a month, 12 weeks or a season — and find the ones you have built.
- Games & drills planner Build game-based sessions and drills.
- Sport screens Pick a sport — the shots to film, the analyser, and a ready-made radar of the qualities that matter.
- Movement screen → radar Read joint angles off the analyser — they auto-score and fill a radar wheel.
- Assessment builder Build and run client assessments and re-tests.
- Tag analytics Every tag across your clips, grouped and exportable.
Client
- AI prompts Your reusable prompt library for coaching copy.
- Before & after Side-by-side progress comparisons.
Trainer tools
- Exercise generator Fresh exercise ideas from constraints you set.
- FASTER dice & wheel Spin-and-roll session variety for groups and games.
- Movement demonstrator A 3D model of the FASTER movement patterns — body or skeleton view, prime movers lit up, live joint angles.
- Client video analysis Your media library — client folders and your own. Pick a clip to analyse.
- Movement by FASTER (HMAC) Human movement analysis charts — see how a client moves.
- Live analysis Mount your phone and coach live — skeleton, reps, angles and depth in real time.
- Tell a group One thing, to the right people — and you see exactly who it reaches first.
Media centre
- Video builder Reels, stories and client report videos, in your own branding.
- Image builder Branded posts and cards for your socials, at the right size.
- Shot list builder Every shot with its size, angle, lens, location, people, kit and sound; sorted into shooting order, ticked off on the day, printed or sent as a sheet.
- Storyboard builder Plan a video shot by shot: what the camera sees, what is said, the move and the cut.
- Script writer Write what you will say, with the word count and how long it takes to say.
- Teleprompter Read your script off the screen at your speed, and film yourself behind it.
- Video and image organiser Everything you have made and every source you can pull from.
- Ad builder Make your own ads, coached as you go, in your branding. As many as you like, no fee, no cap.
Frequently asked
What is functional training?
Training that improves your ability to perform everyday movements efficiently, using exercises that mimic real-life actions like lifting, pushing, pulling and twisting.
How does it differ from traditional workouts?
Instead of isolating single muscles, it uses full-body movements that engage several muscle groups at once, building coordination, balance and flexibility alongside strength.
Do I need equipment?
No — much can be done with bodyweight, though resistance bands, dumbbells, kettlebells and suspension trainers all add value.
Is it suitable for beginners?
Yes — it's highly adaptable and can be scaled to any fitness level or age by adjusting exercise, intensity and duration.
How should a trainer introduce it?
Assess the client's goals, then swap isolation exercises for functional alternatives — a squat or lunge instead of a leg press, for example.
Reading this for your own training? Every trainer on the FASTER register has been assessed by us — search by town or speciality, free.
Find a FASTER trainer →
